20 Sep 2016

The Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Prince Maele says the Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) has been re-launched to offer sitting tenants of Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) houses an opportunity to own property.  
Speaking at a press briefing on September 19, Minister Maele said they target low income groups who cannot afford mortgages from commercial banks.
He said they have learnt a lot from the first TPS which was terminated in 2004 due to a number of challenges amongst them huge arrears which amounted to P44 million, but have now declined to P1.5 million.
The minister said the initial TPS was open to all tenants and that  their processes then did not facilitate good management of the scheme.
Mr Maele said the objective of the TPS was to enable Batswana an opportunity to own houses by purchasing leased BHC houses with payment terms that were conducive and affordable.
“This invariably means that potential mortgage customers who could not afford or qualify for mortgages with local commercial banks largely due to loan pre-requisite such as deposit, transfer costs and registration fees required upfront would now be able to afford BHC houses as no upfront payments and other inconveniences are required through the TPS,” he said.
The minister said potential purchasers would be subjected to a vetting process to establish their financial suitability for the scheme.
“We have decided to re-look into the scheme, modify it and re-introduce it because we have now put in place a robust system that can handle the scheme better than before,” he said.
This scheme is available to Batswana aged 65 years and below on relaxed installment terms over a maximum repayment period of 25 years at prime plus three per cent.
BHC has been tasked to oversee the implementation of the scheme and arrange a compulsory credit life insurance to cover the loan of the purchaser.
The minister said currently there were about 6 000 leased houses, adding that not all tenants would qualify.
He said those that do not qualify would not be evicted, but may continue to pay rent or opt for outright purchasing.
The minister said people who used the old scheme would also be transferred to the new scheme.ENDS